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Vermillion: Ex-VCDC Manager To Serve Time
By David Lias
Vermillion Plain Talk
VERMILLION — The former program manager of the Vermillion Chamber of Commerce and Development Company (VCDC) was sentenced last Friday to serve a total of one year in the South Dakota State Penitentiary by Circuit Court Judge Arthur Rusch.
Tina Harnois, 41, had pleaded guilty to one count of forgery and one count of grand theft last May to avoid a jury trial.
Rusch sentenced her to a five-year penitentiary term on the forgery charge, with four years suspended. Harnois was also ordered to serve a 10-year sentence on the grand theft charge, with nine years suspended.
Conditions of the suspended sentences include:
• being placed on probation for four years for the forgery charge and nine years for the grand theft charge.
• making restitution to the VCDC in the amount of $27,788.31, less whatever amount the VCDC is able to recover from their bonding company.
• awarding a civil judgment to the VCDC against Harnois in the sum of $15,794 covering the cost of the audit necessary to determine the amount that was stolen.
• repaying the state of South Dakota costs of prosecution totaling $64.30 for transcripts and $100 for a computer download.
Harnois avoided a jury trial by agreeing May 16 to enter guilty pleas to two of a long list of charges. Harnois was indicted by a Clay County grand jury in early January of 28 counts of forgery and one count of grand theft. She pleaded not guilty to those charges before Rusch in mid-February. Her jury trial was scheduled to begin May 19.
Harnois’ attorney, Lee McCahren, and State’s Attorney Teddi Gertsma agreed that in exchange for Harnois’ guilty plea to two counts in her grand jury indictment, the remaining 27 counts would be dropped.
Harnois agreed to waive her right to a jury trial by pleading guilty to a forgery count in the indictment. This count states that on or about Dec. 1, 2006, Harnois committed forgery by writing a check to her daughter, Michelle Harnois, for $825 on the Vermillion Area Chamber of Commerce and Development Company’s (VCDC’s) checking account. Harnois told Rusch Friday that she, not her daughter, cashed the check and kept the funds. She also said she had no authority to write the check.
She also pleaded guilty to grand theft. Between November 2006 and November 2007, Harnois committed grand theft by taking over $1,000 belonging to the VCDC. "That came about because I took liberties — and took amounts of money out of petty cash over $1,000," she told Rusch, last May.
Harnois was taken into custody by local police on Jan. 8 and remained free on $10,000 bond, after depositing 10 percent of that amount, or $1,000, with the Clay County clerk of courts. Her indictment came after an investigation by Vermillion police in November 2007, when the VCDC board of directors discovered financial discrepancies.
According to court documents obtained by the Vermillion Plain Talk, Harnois forged 28 checks on the VCDC’s checking account between Nov. 1, 2006, and Nov. 2, 2007. Thirteen of the checks were written to her, according to the indictment. Others were written to individuals or businesses. According to a Jan. 10 Vermillion Police Department press release, the total amount stolen was $27,788.31.
Forgery is a Class 5 felony, punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in the state penitentiary and a $10,000 fine. The grand theft charge is a more serious Class 4 felony, with a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
Tina Harnois, 41, had pleaded guilty to one count of forgery and one count of grand theft last May to avoid a jury trial.
Rusch sentenced her to a five-year penitentiary term on the forgery charge, with four years suspended. Harnois was also ordered to serve a 10-year sentence on the grand theft charge, with nine years suspended.
Conditions of the suspended sentences include:
• being placed on probation for four years for the forgery charge and nine years for the grand theft charge.
• making restitution to the VCDC in the amount of $27,788.31, less whatever amount the VCDC is able to recover from their bonding company.
• awarding a civil judgment to the VCDC against Harnois in the sum of $15,794 covering the cost of the audit necessary to determine the amount that was stolen.
• repaying the state of South Dakota costs of prosecution totaling $64.30 for transcripts and $100 for a computer download.
Harnois avoided a jury trial by agreeing May 16 to enter guilty pleas to two of a long list of charges. Harnois was indicted by a Clay County grand jury in early January of 28 counts of forgery and one count of grand theft. She pleaded not guilty to those charges before Rusch in mid-February. Her jury trial was scheduled to begin May 19.
Harnois’ attorney, Lee McCahren, and State’s Attorney Teddi Gertsma agreed that in exchange for Harnois’ guilty plea to two counts in her grand jury indictment, the remaining 27 counts would be dropped.
Harnois agreed to waive her right to a jury trial by pleading guilty to a forgery count in the indictment. This count states that on or about Dec. 1, 2006, Harnois committed forgery by writing a check to her daughter, Michelle Harnois, for $825 on the Vermillion Area Chamber of Commerce and Development Company’s (VCDC’s) checking account. Harnois told Rusch Friday that she, not her daughter, cashed the check and kept the funds. She also said she had no authority to write the check.
She also pleaded guilty to grand theft. Between November 2006 and November 2007, Harnois committed grand theft by taking over $1,000 belonging to the VCDC. "That came about because I took liberties — and took amounts of money out of petty cash over $1,000," she told Rusch, last May.
Harnois was taken into custody by local police on Jan. 8 and remained free on $10,000 bond, after depositing 10 percent of that amount, or $1,000, with the Clay County clerk of courts. Her indictment came after an investigation by Vermillion police in November 2007, when the VCDC board of directors discovered financial discrepancies.
According to court documents obtained by the Vermillion Plain Talk, Harnois forged 28 checks on the VCDC’s checking account between Nov. 1, 2006, and Nov. 2, 2007. Thirteen of the checks were written to her, according to the indictment. Others were written to individuals or businesses. According to a Jan. 10 Vermillion Police Department press release, the total amount stolen was $27,788.31.
Forgery is a Class 5 felony, punishable by a maximum sentence of five years in the state penitentiary and a $10,000 fine. The grand theft charge is a more serious Class 4 felony, with a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine.
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